Republicans wasting time and effort again on another symbolic vote:
The House voted Wednesday to strike down an Obama administration rule that critics say would give the federal government too much authority to oversee wetlands, streams and other small waterways.
The resolution passed the House largely along party lines at 253-166, with Iowa's three Republicans voting for it and Rep. Dave Loebsack, its lone Democrat, opposing the measure. But the vote is expected to be largely symbolic, because the White House has promised to veto the measure.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, had proposed the measure in the Senate, where it passed in November by a 53-44 vote.
“Today’s House passage of my legislation to scrap the expanded (Waters of the U.S.) rule is a major step forward toward stopping this blatant (Environmental Protection Agency) power grab,” Ernst said. “President Obama must now decide between an unchecked federal agency or the livelihoods of those in our rural communities who say this rule must be stopped.”
Republicans and agriculture groups say the rule is nothing more than a land grab that gives the government too much power to regulate their land and potentially subject ditches, stream beds and self-made ponds on their property to new oversight. As a result, farmers worry they would have to pay for costly environmental assessments and apply for more permits.
The EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have said the rule is needed in the wake of a pair of Supreme Court rulings, in order to clarify the Clean Water Act by specifying the types of bodies of water regulated by the 1972 measure. Democrats and environmental groups contend the regulations are needed to limit pollution in small waterways and wetlands that 117 million Americans depend on for drinking water.
The EPA warned following the Senate vote that rejecting the rule “would sow confusion and invite conflict at a time when our communities and businesses need clarity and certainty around clean water regulation.”
Collin O'Mara, president of the National Wildlife Federation, said the House was not doing enough to protect the country’s water.
“By overwhelming margins, Americans want to see their streams and drinking water protected, not polluted or destroyed,” he said. “Today’s vote defies the will of the American people."
For now, the changes to the Clean Water Act are not being implemented because a federal court blocked the measure last year, pending the outcome of lawsuits filed by more than a dozen states.
http://www.press-citizen.com/story/...nsts-measure-block-obama-water-rule/78747858/
The House voted Wednesday to strike down an Obama administration rule that critics say would give the federal government too much authority to oversee wetlands, streams and other small waterways.
The resolution passed the House largely along party lines at 253-166, with Iowa's three Republicans voting for it and Rep. Dave Loebsack, its lone Democrat, opposing the measure. But the vote is expected to be largely symbolic, because the White House has promised to veto the measure.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, had proposed the measure in the Senate, where it passed in November by a 53-44 vote.
“Today’s House passage of my legislation to scrap the expanded (Waters of the U.S.) rule is a major step forward toward stopping this blatant (Environmental Protection Agency) power grab,” Ernst said. “President Obama must now decide between an unchecked federal agency or the livelihoods of those in our rural communities who say this rule must be stopped.”
Republicans and agriculture groups say the rule is nothing more than a land grab that gives the government too much power to regulate their land and potentially subject ditches, stream beds and self-made ponds on their property to new oversight. As a result, farmers worry they would have to pay for costly environmental assessments and apply for more permits.
The EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have said the rule is needed in the wake of a pair of Supreme Court rulings, in order to clarify the Clean Water Act by specifying the types of bodies of water regulated by the 1972 measure. Democrats and environmental groups contend the regulations are needed to limit pollution in small waterways and wetlands that 117 million Americans depend on for drinking water.
The EPA warned following the Senate vote that rejecting the rule “would sow confusion and invite conflict at a time when our communities and businesses need clarity and certainty around clean water regulation.”
Collin O'Mara, president of the National Wildlife Federation, said the House was not doing enough to protect the country’s water.
“By overwhelming margins, Americans want to see their streams and drinking water protected, not polluted or destroyed,” he said. “Today’s vote defies the will of the American people."
For now, the changes to the Clean Water Act are not being implemented because a federal court blocked the measure last year, pending the outcome of lawsuits filed by more than a dozen states.
http://www.press-citizen.com/story/...nsts-measure-block-obama-water-rule/78747858/
